Playing against Anand was a Great Challenge: World Chess Champion's Father Henrik Carlsen

Chennai, Nov 23 (ANI): Father of newly-crowned World Chess Champion praised Viswanathan Anand and said that Magnus Carlsen has learned a lot from him. Magnus Carlsen became the world chess champion as Game 10 of the chess championship ended in a draw in Chennai. Father of Magnus Carlsen, Henrik Carlsen expressed happiness and said everything has come out in the best possible way. While talking to journalists after the match, Henrik Carlsen praised Anand and said Magnus had learnt a lot from him.

Read More

Chess Prodigy Magnus Carlsen's Father Advises Parents not to Pressure Kids into Doing Anything

World Chess Championship Challenger Magnus Carlsen's father, Henrik has some great advice for parents, particularly chess parents: Don't push your kids into anything. Here are excerpts from a LiveMint interview with the World No. 1's father (Photo: Photo: SaiSen/Mint)

How was Magnus as a child different from his three sisters? He wasn’t different at all as child. He was pretty much the same as his sisters. We didn’t notice anything unusual at all. For instance, I am good with numbers. So was Magnus till he turned 5, but after that, he didn’t take interest in numbers at all.

Honestly, it took us a long time to figure out that Magnus could be good at chess or be different from his sisters in any way at all. So the way we brought him up wasn’t different at all from the way we raised our other children.

But it was you who introduced Magnus to chess, isn’t it? Yes, I taught him the game when he was 5, but initially he didn’t take much interest in it. It was like that for many years, and I didn’t care. He suddenly started taking interest in chess when he was about to turn 8. And he developed that interest completely on his own. At that time, he was also interested in football, and till about 12, he played a lot of football as well.

At what point did you realize that he was a gifted chess player?When he started taking interest in chess, he could really focus on it. He wasn’t interested in anything else at all. It was only then that we realized that Magnus could focus on only one thing, unlike other children who would be interested in several things. For Magnus, it was chess and chess alone.

That was the time when we realized that he was somewhat different from other children of his age. He must have been 8 or 9 at that time.

By the time, he turned 9 or nine-and-a-half, he started beating me at chess. So, looking at his drive from within, we thought maybe Magnus wants to play chess seriously. My wife, though, wasn’t much interested in chess initially.

He quit studies quite early in his life. Was it his decision? Did you agree with him when he did that? He must have been 16 by the time he decided to quit studies. Initially, we always encouraged him to pay attention to his studies as well. There were times when we would have to ask him to stop playing chess, skip tournaments and so on, so that he could finish his homework and cope with studies. But never the other way round.

When he eventually decided to quit studies—and that was completely his own decision—we didn’t object to it because by that time it was clear to everyone that he definitely had a future in chess. Chess always came first, so we would never have to push him to train in chess.

Also, being a Norwegian helped. Because of the high standards of social security in Norway and other Scandinavian countries, children there are able to explore special things.

For somebody of Magnus’ IQ, he would have been good at many other things, not just chess. What do you think he could have become had he not taken a liking for chess? No, no, no… I don’t know about his IQ. I don’t know what he could have become had he not played chess. You should ask him what he wishes to be when he quits playing. So far, he has only played chess and has always focused on it.

Having brought up a prodigy, what is your advice to young parents?
Honestly, we never thought of Magnus as a prodigy and bringing him up wasn’t in any manner different from bringing up my other children. We treated him in the same way as the others in the family because, as I said, he never appeared to be different in any manner.

It was only when he started focusing on chess and we could see that he could switch himself off from everything else, did we realize that he turned out to be somewhat different from his sisters, or other children for that matter. Since then, he has only been doing what he loves to do: play chess. And we didn’t stop him from following his passion.

My advice to young parents is that they shouldn’t pressure their children into doing anything. They should allow the children to decide for themselves what they like. This can take time but if eventually a child can focus on something—like Magnus could focus on chess—allow him to pursue a career in what he enjoys doing.

Read More

The Road to Chennai 2013 – Success at the Top: Magnus Carlsen's Dad Continues Blog Series

A few weeks back, World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's father Henrik Carlsen had updated the Arctic Securities Blog with the first part of the series. it was titled 'The road to Chennai - Early Development'. Here is the second part: 'The Road to Chennai 2013 - Success at the Top'. We posted the first part here.

Magnus Carlsen's Blog

The Road to Chennai 2013 – Success at the Top

Towards the end of 2008 we discussed a cooperation with Garry Kasparov, and Espen Agdestein, who had already helped us secure the sponsor FAST the year before, agreed to work as a sponsor agent to help finance the cooperation. Espen has been the manager of Magnus from 2011. 

Financial firm Arctic Securities and Simonsen Vogt Wiig lawyers have now been main sponsors of Magnus for four years already. They share with Magnus the emphasis on focused dedication, attention to details and uncompromised quality. 

Espen and Magnus have continued to make sure that new sponsors represent high standards, and later Norway’s main newspaper VG, software company Parallels and recently high tech company Nordic Semiconductor have joined as main sponsors. 

For Magnus interactions with his main sponsors have provided valuable experience and perspectives balancing life as a professional chess player. 

Magnus appreciated the 13 months cooperation with Kasparov, “the one who invented a lot of the modern concepts of chess”. He came close to winning both in Linares and Sofia 2009, and suddenly everything worked out perfectly in Nanjing 2009 resulting in clear first with 8/10 and an above 3000 rating performance. 

---------------------------

 A sponsoring agreement has been agreed between Arctic Securities and Magnus Carlsen. Magnus became an International Grandmaster at the age of 13, the youngest at the time. In October 2009, during the Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament, he became the fifth chess player in the history to achieve an Elo-rating over 2800 – by far the youngest to do so. That year he also became The World Blitz Chess Champion. On January the 1st of 2010 the new FIDE list was published and at the age of 19 Magnus became the youngest ever chess player to be ranked World Number One. Carlsen is the best representative for top excellence within both analysis and implementation.

------------------------

Later that autumn he won the Blitz World Championship with nearly 75% score, and the London Chess Classics. In general, Magnus has preferred to prepare on his own during tournaments. He has worked with other strong GM’s on many occasions, and Ian Nepomniachtchi was also his second during the successful London Chess Classics 2012. 

After the Kasparov cooperation in practice ended early 2010, Magnus scored 7.5/10 in Bazna in June despite less focus on preparation. Maybe the games lost during the 2010 Olympiad and subsequent Bilbao Masters served as a wake-up call. For the last three years his tournament rating performances have all been well above 2800 bringing his rating to an all-time-high of 2872 in February 2013, and securing yearly Chess Oscars from 2009 onwards. 

Among his tournament victories are Tata Steel Chess (former Corus) and London Chess Classics three times, and Bilbao, Nanjing, Bazna and Biel two times. Over the years he has played a few matches. In rapid chess I remember vividly the 5-3 victory against Peter Leko in 2008. Magnus was under pressure in several games, and in one of them he had to find about 20 only-moves with 10 seconds increments to draw. 

In classical chess he participated three times in the World Cup in his youth with shared 3rd in 2007 as his last and best result. In the Candidates earlier that year in Elista in Kalmykia, at 16, he lost a tense and even match against Levon Aronian after equalising three times in the classical stage (3-3) and rapid phase (2-2), before succumbing in the final blitz games. 

Due to changes to the rules in mid-cycle, Magnus withdrew from the Grand Prix in November 2008, and he did not participate in World Championship qualifications until 2013. In March this year he qualified for the match against V. Anand starting November 9th in Chennai, by winning the Candidate Tournament in London on tie-break after a tense finish. 

Peter Heine Nielsen was helping him in London, in addition to a team of other strong grandmasters contributing from home. Kenneth Gvein and Metronet have helped professionalizing Magnus' digital appearance. Online activities will only become more important in the future. 

Thanks go also to Basefarm for providing important hosting support. Somewhat unusual for a chess player, Magnus became a campaign model for G-Star Raw clothes in 2010/2011. It was flattering that they wanted to renew the cooperation for 2014, as announced last week. Magnus’s last tournament before the World Championship match was the Sinquefield Cup in St.Louis in September and he won quite convincingly with 4.5/6. 

Last but not least, we would like to thank all the unnamed, but not forgotten, tournament organisers, organisations, chess colleagues, seconds, spectators, fans and friends that have been supportive and contributed with practical help, encouragement, enthusiasm or otherwise on the long road to Chennai 2013. 

Thank you! 

For Team Carlsen, 
Henrik C., 

November 3rd, 2013

2013-11-03 20:20:04

Read More

Magnus Carlsen's Private Doctor Brede Kvisvik to take Good Care of World No. 1 in Chennai

The excitement around the upcoming Anand, Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013 has also taken hold over the World No. 1's personal doctor Brede A. Kvisvik, a chess player (Fide Master) in his own right! He is going to accompany Magnus Carlsen's team to Chennai for the big event considered the most talked-about chess match after the 1972 World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. 

The 29-year-old from the town of Frei is going to be close to all the action at the 12 games of the World Chess Championship in Chennai between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen beginning November 7. 

Speaking to Norwegian newspaper Tidens Krav, Kvisvik said, "This summer I got a call from Henrik Carlsen. He asked me if could be part of the team going to India as a doctor and support. I think there is very little chance that Magnus would suffer food poisoning or any typical tropical disease, but you never know. I will take drugs and be prepared for everything to help Carlsen." 

Tidens Krav (TK) is a local tabloid published in Kristiansund, Norway since 1906. 

The 29-year-old Kvisvik said he was never in doubt about going with Team Carlsen. "No, of course not. I was floating around on a cloud since I was asked. This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me," says Kvisvik who himself is a formidable name on Norway's list of talented chess players.

"Of course as a chess professional, I probably have nothing to contribute at this level," he laughs.

The boy moved away Frei is often associated with Magnus Carlsen in his spare time.Kvisvik has been associated with Magnus Carlsen's group of friends who play play bowling, poker and spend free time together. "That can be in India too. The Norwegian world number one is concerned with the physical training so he can better prepared for long chess games. I am at his disposable whatever Magnus wishes. It could be tennis, it may be football. There may be other things. The goal is of course that I should be the doctor," says Kvisvik.

Magnus Carlsen's team will also include private security and a chess. Neither Viswanathan Anand, nor Magnus Carlsen have yet announced the chess professionals' team that is helping them for the World Chess Championship in Chennai. -- Rajat Khanna

Read More

Carlsen meets Norwegian Journalists before flying to the US, to begin Training Camp at Secret Location

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who was back in Oslo, Norway after winning the Sinquefield Chess Cup in Saint Louis, US, will fly back to the United States this Saturday. Carlsen will proceed to a training camp from the United States and then directly go to Chennai, India - the venue of the World Chess Championship 2013 against Viswanathan Anand.

Carlsen, his manager and father met Norwegian chess journalists these last two days. Here are quotes by Carlsen and his team from some news reports in leading Norwegian dailies:

- What is important now is to relax and not get too nervous. towards the World Championship. It's about finding the right feeling and maintaining harmony.
- The three-week training camp will take place in a place where the climate and time zone are closer to what awaits in India. But, details of the training camp will be held kept secret. 
- We want to be sure that it is a private thing, and I am shielded from the outside world. 
- The team could include four to five people. The names are not being announced so as not to give Anand a competitive advantage. We will not give any more information than necessary.
- I look at chess and meet regularly with Jon Ludvig Hammer. The first two weeks will consist of intense preparation with seven to eight hours daily of chess preparation and some physical exercise. The last week before the World Championship match will be more relaxed.

Read More

Chess World No. 1's Company MagnusChess hopes to make over $3 million in 2013

MagnusChess - the company - hopes to register a gross turnover of between 15 and 20 million NOK (Norwegian Kroner) in 2013. That's about $2.5 million to $3.2 million. (The current currency rate is 1 Norwegian Krone equals 0.16 US Dollar.)

Since 2007, the World No. 1 chess player's company has had a turnover of 27 million NOK ($4.5 million) and a profit before tax of 15 million NOK ($2.5 million) according to Dagens Næringsliv (Norwegian for Today's Business). 

Chess world's 22-year-old talented prodigy had, at the end of 2012, built up a solid equity of nearly 12 million NOK ($1.97 million), according to DN. 

Commonly known as DN, Dagens Næringsliv is a Norwegian tabloid specialising in business reporting and is pegged as the fourth largest newspaper in Norway.

On his part, the planet's top-rated chess player has said he does not care so very much for money. He leaves the management to his manager Espen Agdestein and father Henrik. 

Carlsen told DN, "I am very grateful that I can live on something (chess) I think is so fun. Beyond that I'm not thinking so much about it."

Magnus Carlsen owns 85 percent of the company MagnusChess. The remaining 15 per cent is owned by his father Henrik. His father confirmed to DN that the recent developments were "nice" and they hoped for a revenue increase in 2013. Norwegian sponsors are sure to use the world's best chess player for endorsements and more, states DN.

Success at the forthcoming World Chess Championship could further up the earnings for MagnusChess, DN had reported, in its print edition right after Magnus Carlsen signed a new sponsorship agreement with Nordic Semiconductor last month.

DN estimates that a victory over Viswanathan Anand, at the forthcoming World Chess Championship, could fetch the World No. 1 nine million NOK ($1.48 million) in prize money, plus six million NOK ($987000) in bonuses from sponsors (including also Arctic Securities, SIMONSEN Advokatfirma, V-G) and other sources. 

Earlier, when Carlsen had signed a deal with clothing giant G-Star in 2010, Henrik Carlsen had told newspaper Aftenposten that the sponsorship deal was “the whole difference” between the two years as his son had not earned more in prize money during 2010. The company’s pretax result was NOK 4.87 million (over $900,000 then), which took into account NOK 3.72 million (over $690,000 then) as fees for Magnus Carlsen’s teacher, the legendary Russian Garry Kasparov.

The company saw an increase in income from NOK 3.5 million (nearly USD $650,000) in 2009 to NOK 8.4 million (over USD $1.5 million) in 2010 due to a deal with clothing manufacturer G-star.

However, Carlsen lost about 10 million NOK ($1.85 million) when he withdrew from the qualifiers for the 2012 world chess championship in protest at the FIDE rules. -- Zainab Raza Undulusi

Read More

Chennai: Carlsen Loses Four Games in Simul; Happy with World Chess Match Venue Arrangements

Chennai, August 19: World No. 1 Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has said he is satisfied with the arrangements at the World Championship 2013 venue in Chennai for the match against World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Carlsen and his team inspected the venue today. The 22-year-old talent was accompanied by his manager Espen Agdestein and his father Henrik Carlsen.

"I am happy with the arrangements and look forward to playing against Anand. I respect him a lot," Carlsen said.

Carlsen said his November 7-28 contest against Anand will be very interesting and that it would be one of the finest matches in the history of chess. He also said he was confident of snatching the World title from Anand.

"When playing a World Championship match, you should have supreme confidence in your abilities," Carlsen said speaking to journalists here. 

In reference to the World Championship 2010 match in which Anand beat Veselin Topalov, Carlsen said he had not had any major role to play in that match. However, Carlsen said, he worked with Anand during 2007-2008 in his World Championship matches.

Carlsen did not reply to questions relating to Garry Kasparov, the role of Peter Heine Nielsen, one of Anand's major seconds all along, who quit early this year and helped Carlsen prepare for the London Candidates. 

Carlsen also refused to comment on the controversial "illness clause" in his contract for the World Chess Championship match.

"As such, Nielsen shall not have any role in this match as he has been close to both the players. Though Anand will have the advantage of playing in his home turf, his recent encounters against me have given me enough confidence," Carlsen said.

Carlsen also played a simul against 20 young talented players in the 6-17 age-group at the MOP Vaishnav College, Nungambakkam. Carlsen spent around two and a half hours in the simul winning 10 games and drawing six. Carlsen also lost to four youngsters. 

The 10-year-old FM L N Ram Aravind, multiple National Champion R Vaishali, National Under 13 Champion N R Visakh and Commonwealth Bronze medallist G Jaswant forced the World Championship Challenger to resign. Carlsen was all praise for the children. 

Aruna, Anand's wife and manager said: the World Champion was not in Chennai at the moment and hence Carlsen would return without meeting him. -- Zainab Raza Undulusi

Read More